


For Desire of Home

by Quartzitedecadence



Category: Mother 2: Gyiyg no Gyakushuu | EarthBound
Genre: Comfort, Family, Fluff, Gen, Homesick, I really like exploring friendships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-12
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-22 18:05:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16602923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quartzitedecadence/pseuds/Quartzitedecadence
Summary: Missing home is something almost everyone does. Ness is one of those people who really just want to kick back and relax with his family by his side. It's impossible to that now.Ness misses home. However, he isn't one to allow his team to fall back because of him. He's supposed to be the one helping them.That's the job of a leader.





	For Desire of Home

It’s a lot easy to plaster a brave face as he smashes through the enemies brought mad by a weird force. He needs to be brave. Those three he leads need assurance. Paula, strong as she is, is hot-headed at times. The brilliant Jeff doesn’t know when to rest or when to step up. His Majesty Poo, well… he literally gave his life into Ness’s authority. Ness is the leader. It is a leader’s job to care for his companions, make sure they sleep on a bed and not on a desk full of gears, make sure they don’t faint, make sure they don’t do something they regret.

Breathing is hard sometimes. There’s a weight on his chest where he can try to heave it off but it never leaves. He is responsible. He has to be.

His bat doesn’t always have to hit. The opposition is fast. It’s impossible to strike all the time. But when he misses some measly crow more than once and another crow and another, Paula walks up to him and squeezes his hand that isn’t tight around the bat. It is comfortable. It isn’t the same though. Doesn’t make his heart swell.

“Ness, are you okay?” A much kinder demeanor from the fight a few seconds ago. She had brought down her frying pan with a thwack and a fierce expression. That crow had no chance against her wrath. 

Exhale. “Yeah, I… thought I saw something behind it,” Ness says. Something like his little sister. It’s not his fault he was thinking of his mom’s amazing steak! How it was juicy and how it was home. 

He’ll see his mom, Tracy, and King when this is all over. Ness couldn’t look weak. They are supposed to save the world. How are they supposed to save the world if their fearless leader isn’t brave enough to away from home for more than a few days?

He called his mom a few days back at a hotel. The yearning to call again, to snatch the smallest ounce of childhood he left at home is eating at him. His mom is okay. She’ll be there when he calls. Safe.

Jeff says, “Perhaps you’re tired. We have been walking for quite a while.” When Jeff pipes up, it’s something Ness is proud of. This boy used to be quieter than a bunny. He uses words that Ness doesn’t understand, but as long as he talks, it’s a sign that he is being at ease with them.

Instead of the proud feeling, Ness bites his cheek.

Jeff doesn’t miss his dad. He doesn’t miss calling him at an awkward hour. He barely mentions him. Then there’s Ness, who missing striding by the phone and joking with his sister by calling it ‘Dad’.

“Huh, you’re right,” Ness says, staring at the sky. The probability of Jeff being wrong is an extremely high chance of never. They started somewhere in the morning, and now it’s noon. “I don’t think we’re making it to a hotel,” he couldn’t call his mom tonight. He misses her voice. He misses her songs while doing chores. “You guys fine with camping out tonight?”

“If we must, Master Ness,” Poo says. “We all have the sleeping bags, correct?” 

Ness chuckles, leaning on his bat the way he does on the baseball field, “It’s just Ness, no master, no nothing.” He isn’t a master of anything. No matter what, he’s a kid. Sure doesn’t feel like that anymore. “That’s that?” The others haven’t objected, so it is a win-lose situation. He claps his hands together, “Alright, let’s find a place to set up camp.”

Before the sun had disappeared under the horizon, they found a decent canopy made by the trees. The leaves rustle. Paula would turn behind, pan at the ready to hit a nonexistent enemy.

They’re safe here. Poo taught them an amazing alarm mechanism if they got attacked. As far as being psychic, each enemy emits power. The stronger the feeling, the stronger the power.

A chill creeps up Ness’s spine. 

Paula starts a fire from the gathered twigs. A skill used numerous amounts in battle. Doesn’t she get tired? She assures the group that with a good night’s rest, her power would be brimming at its fullest. The first one to sleep in the heat of the fire was her, cuddled inside the sleeping bag. She has a gentle expression.

No one could blame her. She is the definition of an attacker, racing up to the frontlines to aim at the opponents. That kind of thing exhausts people. It’s like one of the video games Ness has played, except he isn’t the actual main character.

They all think he is an open boy, raring and ready to race in the world. In reality, he is a shy child, who misses the warmth of his home. Why couldn’t missing his home be easier? The thoughts of his mom’s hugs, the games Tracy played and spurring King into motion aren’t things that should make an easy enemy evasive.

He lies down in the sleeping bag. The chilly fabric rubs against his skin. Each movement creates a sound that rips through the cackle of the flame. His bed at home doesn’t do that. It’s soft because it doesn’t have the ground pressing against his back. It doesn’t bother him with all the small noises. It’s an embrace he doesn’t want to get out of at the day’s end.

Closing his eyes does no good. Behind the eyelids, there are silhouettes of threats that aren’t real. They are not real. They do not attack him. But they stare. Nowhere to hide. Were they ever safe to begin with? Home is safe. Always.

Something nearby clangs. Ness shoots up from the bed. Across the flames, Jeff is holding metal scraps of what seems to be a laser. His focus stuck on the mechanics.

“Pst, Jeff,” Ness begins, but before he could continue, Jeff tosses the scraps high into the air. They all fall near his workspace. Ness rubs the back of his neck.

“I- I thought you were asleep,” Jeff grabs for the metal in order to rearrange them on a cloth.

“Guess you were wrong for once,” Ness chuckles, adjusting himself to be in an ideal sitting position. “Shouldn’t  _ you _ be sleeping?”

“Shouldn’t  _ you _ ?” Jeff says.

“I tried,” Ness shrugs. “I got things on my mind.” 

“Me too,” Jeff stares at the tools. “...Do you think Da- Dr. Andonuts thinks well of me? We’re most likely going to see him again. He has Apple Kid with him and- and they’re working fine together, some might say exceptional. I don’t know if I’d like to see him.”

Certainly not what Ness was expecting, perhaps his silence is the one to voice that. Someone who couldn’t dare see his dad is the opposite of his own situation.

“No- no, nevermind it then, Ness. I don’t mean to concern you with frivolous matters,” Jeff turns his head away.

As the leader’s answer, he wraps his sleeping bag and walks to Jeff’s workspace to plop it nearby. “Now, it’ll be easier for us to talk! I didn’t want to wake up the others.” Easier to say than covering up the entirety of the conversation.

“Ah,” Jeff says.

“Anyways, your dad? He’s gotta be pretty proud of you. First of all, you’re the smartest person I’ve ever met, and you’re building something pretty cool,” Ness says.

“Really?” Jeff shies his face away.

Ness hums, “I wouldn’t know what to do, put that there or that or something.” The gestures he makes with his hand elicits a laugh out of Jeff. “Without you, we’d be stuck in that dingy place in Threed. You deserve credit.”

Well, yeah, no one wants to be buried early. By zombies! Zombies are things from cheesy movies. Jeff crashed a beautiful creation to get them out. Ness couldn’t bear to part with his beloved bat.

Jeff huffs, his cheeks a tinge of pink. “Thank you, Ness. I just… I don’t know what Dr. Andonuts thinks of me. It was my first time seeing him in ten years apparently. I can’t remember seeing him before. Dads wouldn’t do that, would they?”

Ness hesitates, examining Jeff’s face. Ness shakes his head in the negative. 

“I see…” Jeff says, eyes downcast. “Ness? How is your dad?”

Away from the bright fire, the stars twinkle above. “Dad?” Ness says. “He’s a phone!”

“Excuse me? That’s-“

Ness laughs, “Nononono, he’s not. I don’t see him much, but he tries to answer all our calls. I might know him by his voice more than his face. And so, we mostly see him as the phone. He’s gotta do that, he works lots to support Tracy, me, and Mom.” He counts his fingers, “I see him maybe… once a year? Twice on a good one. He sends gifts to us. He gave me a signed bat once.”

Jeff pauses, “That sounds nice…”

“Well, yeah, you could say that. Mom says I take after him too much. ‘An adventurer,’ she says,” Ness forms his hands into air quotes, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, the irony,” Jeff smiles. “You don’t exactly talk about your family much.”

Ness falters. “I don’t? I didn’t need to, I guess.” That shouldn’t make him have a queasy stomach.

“True,” Jeff sighs. “I don’t have much to say about my own family. My whole life has been at a boarding school away from them.”

“Okay, when we go to my house, you’re gonna meet my mom and sister, and I’m giving you a home. Mom makes the best steaks. Though Tracy can be overwhelming, I’m a proud big brother. You’ll see the lazy dog of the house. The yard’s amazing.  You can say hi to the phone and you could- hah, sorry,” Ness rubs under his nose. “Didn’t mean to go off like that.”

Jeff doesn’t deserve having no family. Dr. Andonuts has to have a reason for leaving him alone.

“Ah! There’s no need to apologize,” Jeff waves his hands. “But I appreciate the sentiment.”

Jeff presses two metal pieces together, “Do you miss home, Ness?”

“I don’t!” Ness covers his mouth after his voice cracked. Lie. The look on Jeff’s face pins him down. Jess isn’t blaming him for anything, he’s waiting.

Ness stares at the flames. He isn’t one to voice his thoughts beyond advice to others. Not to Paula, not to Jeff, not to Poo. He does miss home, more than usual. More than anything. His mom could call him right now and he’d leave to see her face or hear the songs she sings. This duty is important, but he’d drop everything to find a reason to go home.

Heroes don’t act like this.

Ness opens his mouth, nothing comes out. 

Jeff listens. He doesn’t push.

Before Jeff can speak, Ness whispers, “I know I shouldn’t. It’s not what heroes do. Miss enemies because they miss home? That’s not how it works in stories or games or historical figures. The may miss home. It doesn’t mean that they go back whenever they want a piece of their mommy’s cooking,” Ness hugs his knees. “We’re supposed to save the world. How can I lead a powerful group when I can’t get over getting home? And a prophecy? I’m a chosen one? I went home that day from baseball practice into becoming a force that may destroy the world. That’s- That’s…”

Horrifying.

The crackling of flames laughs at Ness. He could lead them all into peril. They could all die and never reach their full potential. They have been many close calls, machine malfunctions, psi malfunctions, anything can and will happen.

Everything isn’t certain. There is no player’s guide to life. No choices to repeat. No save and no load. Only continue through the mistakes. Prophecies can’t always be true.

“Ness,” Jeff says. When the boy doesn’t respond, he repeats, “Ness, we’re… we’re children thrust into a world for adults. We barely experienced the world as is, what makes others think we have the ability to save it? It’s not what we think, it’s what we can do.”

Ness holds his gaze level with Jeff’s, “And if we can’t?”

“We won’t know until we try. It was prophecized we will defeat Giygas. It’s not only your choice,” Jeff fiddles with a gear, holding it up like a monocle. “We all chose to follow you, Paula, Poo, and me. Not only that, we’re a team of friends. It means we support each other. Paula told me of the time you saved her from Carpainter. You were less experienced then, what’s stopping you now? We’re with you.”

“I know that. Jeff, let me tell you, I would drop everything. My bat, my psi, my everything, I guess if I had the choice to be home. Why choose a hero who can’t stand being away from their mom?” Ness says.

Why do they follow him? He hasn’t told them everything about himself. Paula doesn’t know that he explained her to his mom. Or everything else he has told his mom. He could abandon them at any moment.

“I have said it before, we  _ are _ children. Usually, we’re not supposed to leave home until late teens. The school was home to me, I was with Tony, the other students, and Maxwell. I miss them. I would give much to go back to them. However, they assisted me in getting out to join you. I can’t let them down. And I’m sure your mom helped you on your journey as well.”

Ness’ mom supports his journey. Making him laugh on the phone or giving him incentives. It was his mom. She wouldn’t abandon him. Never. Everyone helped him proceed in his journey. Life’s only but a moment, a single grain of sand.

Does his mom feel sad that her kid left for a dangerous journey and might not come back alive?

“She did,” Ness nudges himself closer to the metal scraps. He picks one up and hands it over to Jeff who accepts. “I’ve been with my mom for who knows how long and I’m not, We could die out there and what good would her help be? I don’t wanna let go.”

Jeff screws in the scrap the laser. “We’re not letting go. I refuse to.” He pulls the trigger, without the energy, it emits nothing. Jeff looks proud of the final product. “After this situation comes to an end, I’m going to visit the school. I want to work with Dr. Andonuts for a while.”

Like Ness, Jeff barely talks about his home life. As far as Ness knows, he goes to a boarding school all the way in Winters. A frosted wonderland if the name isn’t any indication. A different setting than Onett. Only one could imagine what Jeff went through.

“You think I could meet Tony when you visit?” Ness says. “You mention him sometimes.”

A heart of gold, Jeff said once about Tony. It is also not hard to miss the times at night when he’s on the phone instead of an impromptu workbench.

“He’d be delighted, under the circumstance that I get to meet your mom when you call her,” Jeff stuffs the laser and spare parts into a box. Then, he holds out a hand.

Ness doesn’t need to debate, he shakes it within seconds, “Deal,” He catches a glimpse of the moon which shines at its peak. “It’s pretty late, and since you’re done with your project, you can’t say ‘no’ to sleep. As your leader, I’m going to exercise my power.” He flops on his back. The sleeping bag is still ache-inducing. He’ll wake up with a bad back because of this.

He’s sure his mom has a bed prepared for when he gets home. If he gets home. No, it’s a when. Has to be.

Jeff smiles while shaking his head, “I’m afraid I’m going to impeach you if you ‘exercise’ your power too much. Remember, you’re not letting go of your mom or anybody you don’t want to.”

Ness chews the inside of his mouth. “I’ll do that,” he says. “We need you awake in the morning, okay?”

There’s a shift of fabric beside him, “Understood. Goodnight, Ness,” Jeff says.

“Goodnight,” Ness says-

And he waits for the silence to take over the area beyond the fire and the snores of his companions. It’s freezing and scary and not home, but he’d rather be with them than any other situation. They’ll protect each other, not because they’re heroes, because they’re family in an odd way. Each member having different characteristics to make themselves who they are.

Ness closes his eyes. In his dreams, the enemies are relentless, gathering on every side. There’s a light, strong to resist them, not fully take them away. The light is his friends guiding him to the right path. Is that his home in the distance? That is so close and so far.

In the morning when everyone is set to go, Paula seems to be taking the lead. She held her pan at the ready. There is a couple of fleeting glances backward, but she continues onwards. She does question their leader in directions.

Poo follows right behind her. He is poised and dignified, head up. He must’ve gotten rigorous training. What a model. Ness couldn’t be still for more than five minutes.

Jeff lags with Ness. The conversation from the night a passing memory. The genius watches the rear for dangers.

It occurs to Ness is that he isn’t in the forefront. His companions form a secret shield around him against their opponents. On the off-chance that he is able to strike  _ and _ miss, they don’t question it. They treat him as they did before. He’s the one holding the most authority and gets to call the shots for the final act.

A surprise to Ness is that he’s completely fine with this situation. He isn’t going to put them in peril because of a missed attack. Or more in a daze, really. The weight on his chest lightened up, not all of it. There’s literally the weight of the whole world relying on them.

He wishes his mom was there to congratulate them. She would have steak prepared and the brightest smile on the planet. 

They reach the next town by sunset. Renting a room at a hotel is the first thing in their minds other than stocking up on food. The first thing on  _ Ness _ ’ mind upon entering the hotel is to call home when everyone went upstairs. 

It’s embarrassing to call his family in front of the people he leads. Same reason why he doesn’t go yapping off about home.

He pulls Jeff to the side as the other two traverse upstairs. Ness tells them about a fake business in town for supplies. Jeff doesn’t bat an eye until they leave.

The scientist looks at Ness.

Ness gestures to the phone on the counter. “You said you wanted to meet my mom. So by the end of this, I’m gonna meet Tony, right? Call him or something?”

“That’s what we agreed to,” Jeff says.

The phone rings. Once. Twice.

His feet are getting antsy.

Click!

“Mom…?” is Ness’ immediate response. He holds his breath.

The sound has a little static, but his mom’s voice is there! “Ness, is that you?”

Ness’ heart swells. A smile tugs at his lips. It’s been a while. “The one and only! Mom, how are you? Whatcha doing?”

“I’m doing fine, sweetie. Just laundry. Did you miss your mom’s beautiful voice?” Her voice goes an octave lower then it perks up. “I have the time to sing you a song.”

It’s almost like he entered home from a busy day at school.

“Mom!” Ness’ cheeks burn. As much as he wants to keep talking to his mom a glance at his friend, who shuffles his feet, stops him. “Oh, um… I’d like you to meet someone,” Ness gestures Jeff to approach. “I’ve told you about him. He’s Jeff!”

“The really smart one?”

Her son hums in affirmative. “Here, Jeff.”

Ness passes the phone to Jeff. The boy fumbles with it before pressing it to his ear and murmuring a greeting to Ness’ mother.

Ness couldn’t help but grin. Next time Jeff and his mom talk is going to be in person. That’s a fact.

**Author's Note:**

> I can't believe it took me this long to write another fanfic for the Mother series. Though Ness is a silent protagonist, a lot of things he does are interesting such as being homesick or his thoughts in Lumine Hall.
> 
> And drawing the parallels between Jeff and Ness is fun.


End file.
